Pets relieve stress and unconditionally accept us, their owners. And they also give the experience of non-verbal communication when they understand our mood and teach us to understand their state without words. Therefore, when children ask to get them a cat or a dog, this is not just a whim.
After visiting Ptichka, dad and children came home with an aquarium, kittens, a squirrel and a horse, and “mom looked through the crack and decided not to let them in!” I remember that as a child I was very interested in the question of where they were going to keep the horse – in the garage, or what? ..
These lines from a poem by Eduard Uspensky were reminded to me by a friend. Her daughter has been asking for a puppy for years, and to the objection that “animals in the house are a terrible strain,” she cites my family as an example.
Indeed, we have a small zoo available: a Rosella parrot, a pair of budgerigars, a pair of lovebirds, four zebra finches, two turtles, two guinea pigs, a leopard gecko and a golden retriever, and in the plans – another dog and a panther chameleon.
“Forgive me, of course,” said a friend, “but this is too much. You spoiled your children, they absolutely do not need so many animals, because it still lies on you!
No, I do not argue, animals in the house are not a simple story. And I would never in my life have succumbed to any children’s persuasion if I had not been convinced that they can be trusted with the care of a pet.
To begin with, we “rented” a hamster from friends. The hamster not only survived – according to the owners, he ate with us, ran with great enthusiasm in the wheel and even moped when he returned to his native walls. The next step was a pair of Japanese rice finches. They quickly adapted and diligently hatched the chicks, which we distributed to the right and left.
The birds never got sick and sang loudly at sunset. Then the children saved up for an aquarium. The fish also bred like crazy, as a result, half the room was filled with jars with deposited fry and snails. And then the dog appeared.
Of course, at first we walked with the dog with the eldest daughter, but now the younger two have grown up and are also doing quite well. Well, then all the above geckos started up, and for all these years – I swear! – I never cleaned a single cage, never “suddenly” found out that hay, bird food, canned dog food, cucumbers, crickets had run out. I have never bathed turtles and cut pigs’ claws – the children have mastered all this on their own.
Once we recorded the time, and it turned out that it takes exactly half an hour to take care of all this kagal per day (with the exception of walking the dog, of course). Birds take food from their hands, Rosella allows himself to be stroked on the head, swine joyfully jumps on the bed and whistles, turtles grow by leaps and bounds, the gecko has safely molted and does not lose a healthy appetite. By the way, the crickets that he eats are also fed by children. Q.E.D.
What are good animals at home? Children learn empathy and observation, become more friendly. Animals relieve stress, give a “non-verbal” kind of connection, unconditionally accepting us, without words. Mine have long learned to understand what the dog wants from them – to play, walk or report that something hurts him.
Of course, turtles do not distinguish between human speech, but joyfully stretch their necks when they see a bowl of water – they love to swim. Birds respond to our voice, love to be talked to, tilt their heads in a funny way, or chirp angrily when they are transferred to a carrier to clean the cage. By their behavior, they sometimes even reflect our mood – they will be lethargic and boring if we are sick, lively when we are happy about something.
And they also “leave along the rainbow”, that is, they die. Recently, our parrot Raisa was unable to lay an egg and died in her children’s arms. This, of course, was a blow to them, but this experience is also important – they understand that no one is eternal.
However, neither a parrot, nor a rabbit, nor even a dog can replace communication with people. As the same Uspensky said through the lips of the progressive pope Uncle Fyodor: “It is necessary that there should be a whole bag of dogs, cats, and friends in the house.” By the way, children’s friends love to visit us: not everyone in their life will have a chance to see how a gecko hunts crickets.